Big V and the Arts Centre spire point to Victory

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Melbourne Victory has taken its inspiration from the state's
traditional navy blue-and-white colours, seasoned it with a dash of
French fashion flair and paid respect to the tradition of the Big V
with the design for its playing strip for its first season in the
A-League.

In the way that Sydney clubs make their city's landmarks - the
Opera House and the Harbour Bridge - motifs of their corporate
identity, the Victory hopes to incorporate a well-known
architectural symbol of this state, the Victorian Arts Centre
spire, in its logo.

Victory official Tony Ising, an advertising industry
professional, says the group has been careful not to copy the "Big
V" AFL jumper once used by Victorian state football teams in the
now defunct state-of-origin series.

"We obviously wanted to use the state colours, the dark blue and
white, which are associated with a number of representative teams
from Victoria," Ising said.

"And the 'V' symbol has obvious resonance with Victoria . . .
but we didn't want to make our shirt look exactly like the Big V
footy jersey and while there are similarities, there are also
differences."

In fact, says Ising, the strip is just as closely related to the
uniform used by leading French club Bordeaux, particularly the
version used two seasons ago.

"We hope that the colours, the design and the look of the strip
will be attractive and certainly appeal to all Victorians - not
just those who currently follow soccer."

The logo features a soccer ball atop the club's name and the
wings of victory motif. But the point of difference from other
clubs is the stylised drawing of the spire of the Arts Centre, one
of the most recognisable of Victorian landmarks.

Ising said the club had not been able to sign off on the logo
yet as it was still negotiating the use of the spire symbol with
the Arts Centre. "But the Sydney Swans AFL team uses the Opera
House on the front of their shirt and it is immediately
identifiable with their city. We want to have something similar for
the Victory."

We hope that the colours, the design and look of the strip will be attractive ... to all Victorians.Tony Ising, Victory official

Ising said the response to the launch of the A-League on Monday
had been positive, with Victory's management group - himself,
businessman Geoff Lord, music industry entrepreneur Glenn Wheatley
and newspaperman Alen Rados - getting plenty of feedback.

"People can see the calibre of individuals - men like Frank Lowy
and John O'Neill - involved in this game now and can see that they
are serious about making it work," he said.

"Our approach at the Victory is parallel to that of the league -
we don't want to over-promise at first, we want to manage
expectations and build so we have something lasting.

"Our first task is to set up a football department, with senior
coaches, and then go about recruiting the sort of players who fit
our vision."

If the Victory opts to pick a local coach with a strong
knowledge of Australian-based players, there are several
well-credentialled Victorian-based candidates, including Stuart
Munro, the former Glasgow Rangers and Blackburn Rovers defender,
Eddie Krncevic, the pioneering former Socceroo striker, and Ian
Dobson, the former English professional, who all have had local
coaching success.